Foods that Chickens Can't Eat?

[KatieAnnFrench]

Are there any foods that chickens shouldn't be fed? I was recently told that avocados, citrus fruits, and garlic are all bad to feed to chickens. I believe I've fed my hens avocados, but can't recall if they actually ate it or just pushed it aside...

 

[Ridgerunner]

There is something in one part of an avocado that is bad for chickens, I can't remember what part. So avocado is on my do not feed list.

Practically everything you eat or your chickens eat contains something that can be harmful, including things we eat or feed them all the time. The secret is dosage. An apple seed contains cyanide, a deadly poison. When I was a kid I swallowed a few apple seeds. Why am I not dead? Heck, I didn't even get sick. There is enough cyanide to cause problems for a teeny tiny bug that eats the seed but not enough to even be noticed in a chicken or human. Most fruit seeds contain some cyanide. My chickens roam in an orchard and eat fallen fruit, including seeds, all the time. They don't eat enough seeds to harm themselves. Their poop might get loose eating all that fruit though. When I make fruit jelly I do not dump a concentration of seeds where the chickens can get to them. I consider that a reasonable precaution.

Members of the cabbage family contain a substance that can damage your thyroid, it can even kill you, if you eat enough of it. But you would need to eat a few pounds a day every day for a few weeks for the levels to build up to harmful levels unless you have a thyroid problem to start with. Cabbage is considered a great treat for chickens though mine prefer kale or chard. If all they ate was cabbage for a time period cabbage could harm them. This is why you should feed these things in moderation. A little generally won't hurt them. Certainly mot a little cabbage.

I read an article where they were testing the pulp from squeezed oranges as a food for chickens. I don't know what percentage of the overall diet was that pulp, I'd guess not a huge part.

What foods do I avoid for chickens? Green potato peels or potatoes that have turned green from exposure to the sun. You should avoid them too. The green is actually photosynthesis which is not harmful to chickens. But another invisible toxin grows in potatoes exposed to sunlight so the green is a warning. The chickens would have to eat a certain amount before it causes a problem but it is a concentrated toxin. I avoid it. Regular white potatoes are fine. Regular white potatoes do contain something that can cause problems but a normal healthy human would have to eat over 50 pounds of potatoes at a sitting to get enough to cause a problem. I like potatoes but not that much.

Dried uncooked beans also contain something that can be harmful, Red Kidney beans are the worst. When cooked they are fine. If the chickens snag an occasional dried bean while cleaning out my garden I don't worry about it, but I don't dump a pile of uncooked or under-cooked dried beans where they can get to them. I also try to remove most of the dried beans from the garden before I let them in.

The leaves of members of the nightshade family like tomatoes, peppers, or potatoes contain a toxin. The fruit is fine but the leaves are bad for them. That toxin causes the leaves to be really bitter, so usually the chickens take one bite and move on, but if you toss the plants into the run and that is the only green stuff available they might eat it. But as long as they have a better choice it's usually not a problem. Still, don't toss the plants themselves in as food.

That's all I can think of on my do not feed list. For the rest of the stuff, feed in moderation and you should be fine. For thousands of years chickens have free ranged where toxic plants grow. They are not extinct. When given a choice they generally don't eat things bad for them, at least not in volumes sufficient to harm them.

 

[cavemanrich]

Very well said.
I think the avocado skin is the culprit. Probably bad for us humans as well. Also wanted to mention how a diet of carrots alone would finish humans off in short time. (like being stuck on an island with nothing but carrots to eat) But carrots in reasonable amounts are very good for us as well as my chickens. Mine just luv the shredded peeling when I throw them as treats.

 

[PirateGirl]

There's a whole list in the learning center... let me find it for you...

 

[PirateGirl]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...—the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens.47738/

This has a comprehensive treat chart and further down the page is a list of things they cannot eat.

 

[Wezdin]

Very well said.
I think the avocado skin is the culprit. Probably bad for us humans as well. Also wanted to mention how a diet of carrots alone would finish humans off in short time. (like being stuck on an island with nothing but carrots to eat) But carrots in reasonable amounts are very good for us as well as my chickens. Mine just luv the shredded peeling when I throw them as treats.

Yup, it is the skin. I dont think that citrus is bad for them but mine wont touch it

 

[Thechickentrainer1999]

Are there any foods that chickens shouldn't be fed? I was recently told that avocados, citrus fruits, and garlic are all bad to feed to chickens. I believe I've fed my hens avocados, but can't recall if they actually ate it or just pushed it aside...

Potatoes, chocolate.

 

[cavemanrich]

Potatoes, chocolate.

I will agree with you on the chocolate, but do have a different opinion on potatoes.
Potato leaves...BAD Raw potatoes, and green potato skins,,, BAD.
Way back in time in the previous Century, my mom raised chickens on a small rural homestead. Not a farm, but among farms. Chickens was the only animal, for eggs and occasional chicken soup. Chickens free-ranged, and also were fed boiled potatoes, skins and all. There was sometimes some wheat added, but that was mainly saved for baking bread for us. We did alright. Chickens also did alright, even though just ate mostly boiled potatoes daily.

 

[Thechickentrainer1999]

I will agree with you on the chocolate, but do have a different opinion on potatoes.
Potato leaves...BAD Raw potatoes, and green potato skins,,, BAD.
Way back in time in the previous Century, my mom raised chickens on a small rural homestead. Not a farm, but among farms. Chickens was the only animal, for eggs and occasional chicken soup. Chickens free-ranged, and also were fed boiled potatoes, skins and all. There was sometimes some wheat added, but that was mainly saved for baking bread for us. We did alright. Chickens also did alright, even though just ate mostly boiled potatoes daily.

I added potatoes because I've read reports of people's chickens getting sick from the skins, so for me, I just don't feed mine potatoes in general. I have before years ago before I read that, but they wouldn't even touch it anyway.

 

[PetitePlume]

My hens get it all. I simply dymp the bucket of compost in the run. They don't touch avocado, onion, citrus mainly. Then when I clean the run everything started breaking down in a way and is well mixed with dirt and manure to be. Composts faster. Like f they knew what's good and what isn't, but contrary to us, they don't eat what is bad... Smart chickens!